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Profile in Style: Kean Etro

By Armand Limnander

Published: November 18, 2007

The Italian men's-wear designer has journeyed around the globe, picking up fashion inspiration, folk art, thousands of travel books -- even a pet.

Photos: Cambridge, School Days: Kean Etro, who grew up in Milan, caught the travel bug during his high school days in Cambridge, England. ''I had a white Vespa that I rode all over the countryside, visiting quaint English towns like Ashwell,'' he says. ''And I would go to London to see bands like Spandau Ballet.'' Always a voracious reader, he started a travel library that has since grown to about 8,000 books, including first editions by Kipling and 18th-century volumes on Ethiopia.; cambridge, vespa, spandau ballet and bazaar: corbis. street and shop: getty images. sandwich: asado argentina. kahlo: $; 2007 banco de méxico diego rivera & frida kahlo museums trust. all other photographs from etro. opposite: tango, trullo and olive oil: getty images. toledo: from galeria arvil. statue: chris warde-jones/the new york times. all other photographs from etro.; argentina, our south american home: When traveling in his wife's homeland, Etro alternates between Buenos Aires -- where he likes to grab a choripán sausage sandwich between visits to shops and tango parlors -- and spots like La Pascuala Delta Lodge, a hotel by the Paraná River. These excursions feed his designs. ''Curiosity is essential in life,'' he says. ''And my work is always about 'new traditions.' I build a collection around a place and its sense of history, and then update the references using technology, fabrics and cut.''; Mexico, lights my fire ''I love Mexico because you feel the weight and beauty of history there,'' says Etro, who met his Argentine wife, Constanza, in Mexico City in 2005. Together they have explored the country extensively, visiting galleries and museums (the artists Frido Kahlo and Francisco Toledo are favorites), picking up crafts in Oaxaca and relaxing on the coast of the Yucatán. They even named their golden retriever Tulum, after the small beach town they love.; Weekends In Puglia: For a getaway closer to home, Etro heads to Puglia, the heel of Italy's boot. ''People think it's a desert, but there are lots of forests,'' he says. ''And some places look like they are forgotten in time.'' Etro loves the architecture of the region -- the conical trulli constructions that remind him of a Smurf village, Ostuni's whitewashed grandeur -- and restaurants like Al Fornello da Ricci and Osteria Pugliese in Ceglie Messapica. His favorite souvenirs: limoncello, local olive oil and negroamaro red wine.

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